Music – Page 2 – New Adventures in Technology

Flaming Lungs and Flaming Lips

At various points in the last few days I’ve been fairly convinced that I’m ill. I’ve had a sore throat, various wheezing fits, and a general sense of tiredness that sleep does not fix. The annoying thing is that each “episode” only lasts a few hours and then I feel fine again. Maybe it’s my super-immune system kicking in, or maybe I just need a holiday and I’m not ill at all.

In other (more relevant) news, I’ve been losing myself in the new Flaming Lips album for days. It’s epic (over an hour and a half if you download the iTunes version), and a very challenging listen, but if you like music that makes you think and that is a little (lot) to the left of the mainstream then I’d very much recommend it. I’m also liking the new Califone album (for those times when I need to be soothed rather than challenged), but have otherwise not bought a great deal of new music recently.

Of course, by “recently” I mean this month.

A brief history of love

I’m really taken with the debut album by The Big Pink. It reminds me of all sorts of other things, but above all it sounds like a record that really belongs on 4AD records. I’m partly reminded of The Wolfgang Press and Dif Juz, but also a lot of 90’s shoegazing bands.

It’s certainly well worth 11 emusic credits, and probably worth a lot more than that.

Listening habits and Mercury disappointment

I’ve been back at work a week now, and it really does change the way I listen to music. Over the past week or so I’ve actually only really listened to things whilst travelling to and from work, so at least half of my listening time is taking place quite early in the morning (where I prefer to listen to quieter and slower music). This has lead to me spending a lot of time with the new Yo La Tengo album (which I’d recommend as a good starting point), and also with the (still) brilliant Wilco album, which gets better with every listen, and which might even be my favourite album of theirs now.

I didn’t watch the Mercury Music ceremony in the end (Dollhouse was more pressing this week), but I’m slightly disappointed with the result. I’ve heard bits of the winning album, and I don’t think it offers anything I’ve not heard before. I’d like to have seen Florence winning, but it doesn’t change the fact that “Lungs” is a great album that would appeal to most people who can appreciate music made by someone who gives a damn.

Musical discoveries of the weekend

Various freely available MP3s by Portugal. The Man – I’d not heard of this band until about 3 hours ago, but am actually quite taken with them now. It’s American indie with a strong side order of psychedelia, and I think I could handle a whole album of this easily.

The Butcher’s Ballroom by Diablo Swing Orchestra – Another great name, and an album that I can only describe as a cross between Opera and thrash metal. Except it is a lot better than I’ve made it sound, and is the sort of thing that should be made into a musical.

Before We Stand… We Crawl by Hungry Lucy – Interesting trip hop, with a female singer who can sing, and some killer melodies to go with it.

All are freely available to download.

Review : The Glass Bead Game by James Blackshaw

James Blackshaw is a London based guitarist who creates 12 string guitar and piano based instrumental soundscapes. I’d been meaning to check out his work for a while, but only got round to downloading this album yesterday (another case of needing to burn a few emusic credits quickly). Each of the five tracks is different, but they gel together quite nicely to make something that manages to be both melodic and experimental at the same time. He’s been mentioned in the same breath as a lot of guitar greats, but I’d actually throw Jim O’Rourke or one of the other Chicago scene improvisers into the mix, as this music makes me feel the same way Bad Timing did when I first heard it. This music does not need vocals, or lyrics, or drums. It just needs to be listened to with an open mind. I think I’ll certainly be checking out his extensive back catalogue over the next few weeks.

Mercury Music Prize

The nominations for this year’s Mercury Music Prize have been announced. Usually I have a fairly clear idea of who I think should win, but this year I’m torn between Florence & the Machine, Bat for Lashes and The Horrors. I’ve played all three to death this year, and I think all three artists really deserve a bit more acclaim and money. It also makes me want to check out the nominations I’ve not heard of, as generally I end up quite liking everything that gets nominated.

Albums of the last 3/6 months

Albums of the last 3 months (as a follow on from the first three months of the year):

1 Maxïmo Park – Quicken The Heart
2 Manic Street Preachers – Journal For Plague Lovers
3 The Horrors – Primary Colours
4 Jarvis Cocker – Further Complications
5 The Wind Whistles – Animals Are People Too
6 Super Furry Animals – Dark Days/Light Years
7 The Decemberists – The Hazards of Love
8 Bat for Lashes – Two Suns
9 Crazed Outlook – Double Talk
10 Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career

And then looking at everything from 1st Jan – 30th June:

1 The Decemberists – The Hazards of Love
2 Maxïmo Park – Quicken The Heart
3 The Hold Steady – Separation Sunday
4 Frank Turner – Love Ire & Song + The First Three Years
5 The Hold Steady – Stay Positive
6 Modern Skirts – All Of Us In Our Night
7 And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – The Century of Self
8 British Sea Power – Do You Like Rock Music?
9 Manic Street Preachers – Journal For Plague Lovers
10 The Horrors – Primary Colours

So yes, I’ll do this again at the end of September.

Review : Lots of free music

I may get round to reviewing The Mars Volta, Dinosaur Jr, Sonic Youth and Placebo, but as you can read about all of these in a fair few other places I thought I’d concentrate on a couple of months worth of free music (all licensed under Creative Commons so download away).

The Sound of Music by Pinkle

I like this a lot. It’s lazy, charming and creative indie music, and fits the mood of a summer week off work perfectly. I’ve just downloaded two more albums in the hope that they are at least half as good (see http://www.jamendo.com/en/artist/Pinkle for a full catalogue of releases). I’d buy “The Sounds of Music” and will certainly be trying to find out more about the artist (EDIT: I’ve now found a website at http://www.pinklemusic.com which explains more).

Dinner for One by Amity in Fame

Quite heavy, in a largely acoustic way (in the same was the new Mars Volta album is). I like this, and have found that it has got better with each listen. The only downside is that I’ve not wanted to play it from end to end for reasons I can’t quite put my finger on. Certainly a burn it, although the title track in particular I’d pay for.

Animals are People Too by The Wind Whistles

A record I waited over a year for, and one which has not disappointed. The songs are shorter than the last album, but there are more of them and they have a more indie rock feel to them. None of these are a bad thing, and I would gladly file it next to “Window Sills”, which has been played a very large number of times over the last year.

So High by Le Galago

A British melodic indie group who come from Birkenhead, and sound a lot like Muse to my ears. This is not a bad thing as such, and they certainly have a sound (and in particular a singer) that could take them places. I like this, but it doesn’t tell me anything new about the world or myself, but I’m more than happy to listen to their songs when they appear on my playlist.

2 Days a Night by The Liquid Kitchen

I downloaded this a while ago, and listened to it a fair bit on my way to and from work. To my ears they sound a lot like Neil Young fronting a bar band, and I really have to remind myself on occasions that I’m not actually listening to Neil Young. Great if that is what you are after, but it seems like this really is their only trick and I’m not sure it would stretch to a second album without an input of new ideas. Worth a download though.

Born in the USB by William Doyle

I downloaded this for the title alone, but the music itself is rather fine too. It’s indie with a slight psychedelic edge, and opening track “Beneath the Soil” is possibly my favourite song of the last few weeks. It tails off a bit towards the end, but still warrants a good few listens.

Concept albums for the 21st Century

I’ve always liked concept albums. From Genesis and Pink Floyd to the Mars Volta and the Decemberists, I’ve always loved collections of songs that tell a story. But the one band who are probably the most overlooked in this area are The Hold Steady. I think it’s largely because of the genre they work in. You don’t expect the band often refered to as the best bar band in the world to weave the sorts of stories that flow from song to song (and in their case from record to record). And while I think that the new Decemberists album is probably the best concept album of this year, I think “Stay Positive” by the Hold Steady is up there with it (albeit in a very different way). If you listen to all four Hold Steady albums one after the other it is possible to trace the stories of the main characters, but mainly what you get is a snapshot of a world full of dealers, pimps, hoodrats and voyeurs. It’s a fascinating world, but not one I would want to be a part of, and it is as far away from the traditional fantastical idea of a concept album as you can get. But in the end I keep coming back to their records, and keep wanting to piece together the underlying narrative behind the songs. And that is exactly how I’ve felt about every concept album I’ve ever loved, which suggests they are doing something very right.

If I had to list my concept albums of the 21st century, it would go something like (in no particular order):

Frances the Mute by the Mars Volta
Stay Positive by The Hold Steady
Separation Sunday by The Hold Steady
The Crane Wife by The Decemberists
The Hazards of Love by The Decemberists
The Raven by Lou Reed

Albums of the year (so far)

Posted largely because I’m far too brain dead to finish any of the half-started posts about computers and/or music that I’ve started over the last few weeks.

The Hold Steady – Stay Positive
Frank Turner – Love Ire & Song + The First Three Years
Maxïmo Park – Quicken The Heart
The Hold Steady – Separation Sunday
The Decemberists – The Hazards of Love
British Sea Power – Do You Like Rock Music?
And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – The Century of Self
Manic Street Preachers – Journal For Plague Lovers
Modern Skirts – All Of Us In Our Night
Robyn Hitchcock – Goodnight Oslo

Ok, so some of these are not from 2009, but I think it’s a fair indication of what I’ve been listening to recently. Although Jarvis Cocker’s new album would be on the list in about 2 weeks I think (the stats come from last.fm and the album is very new).